About a month ago, soon after I moved back to Minnesota, I hung out with my cousin Maren for a week. We both like to sew, and so we had a sewing week together! I was hesitant when she suggested making a quilt (each of us making our own); I didn’t think we would actually finish them. But by the time she left all we had to do was the quilting and the binding!

Since moving back to the Twin Cities from New York, I’ve noticed in myself an ugly persuasion. I judge people. A lot more than I used to.

It’s almost kind of funny, because I sort of judge them according to how “cool” they are — as if I were cool. That’s the funny part, because I really am not cool. My requirements for ‘cool’? It’s how genuine people are, how forthright, how comfortable, how un-self-conscious.

So, last night I went to the Cloud Cult show at the Cabooze. I walked around the show completely in my head. In New York, I tended to not question why people would show up at a show like Cloud Cult. Because duh, everyone in New York is creative and original, right? No need to attend a show in order to demonstrate one’s unique hipster nature. Obviously this thinking is ridiculous. People in New York are no “cooler” than people in Minneapolis (what kind of person thinks that, Alison?!). But in MY head, last night, it sounded like this: people in Minneapolis have an inferiority complex to places like New York/San Francisco/Portland/Chicago/LA. So we have to work harder to prove that we are cool. Which made me think that everyone there was just putting on a show by going to the show: Why are people here? What makes people come to a concert like this? Who is here because they actually want to be? And who is here because they are with someone who wants to be? Who is here only because they want to project a certain image of him or herself? What kinds of images do people intentionally project of themselves? Are people self-aware of how and why they portray themselves in certain ways? Read the rest of this entry »

this morning i heard on npr that the recession is over. yes, morning edition asked me: “does the recession feel over to you?”

well, let’s see. yesterday I spent four hours cleaning my parents’ house so that i could have a little extra cash. despite my ‘amazing resume skills,’ (thanks, mom) i can’t find a job, so i’m contacting a temp agency today. i’m considering selling the use of my body to a medical study. and honestly? i’m one of the privileged folks, you know, with sweet, loving, cushy parents to support me.